Surprises on the trail

It's was a beautiful day out , so of course riding time. 50 yards into the trail around a blind corner, boom, a 6 inch tree down across the trail. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, easily could have been bunny hopped over but it was a foot and a half off the ground. Needless to say I was super hard on the brakes and the rear tire of the bike was at least 3 feet off the ground as I hit the limb. Saved it enough that I didn't fly over the bars but did smack my knee pretty hard on the bike frame. Positive thing about all of this, damn do my brakes work good. lol.

My brother and I were doing a late evening ride around a local lake, on our way back to the parking lot and decided to hit one last piece of dirt before the lot. I headed from the road to the cattle gate to open it for him, but he had stopped on the road. I gave the universal "what gives" gesture to him and he yells at me "You didn't see that?!". "See what?", I replied. I looked at where his headlight was pointing and there was a rattlesnake just chillin there. I had zoomed by it on my way to the gate probably about 6 inches from where it was laying.

Had to bunny hop one in the middle of a downhill fire-road about a week before going around 30mph, too. Saw it too late to make a safe stop. I heard it hiss and rattle as I was flying over it. Not sure if it tried to strike or not, but I could swear I heard something bounce off my frame as I went over it.

I was riding with a buddy who was in way better shape and was way out ahead of me most of the time. Naturally this time was no different. The single track twisted through forested areas and at one point crossed over a fire road and continued on the other side. Being very familiar with this trail I always slow to check for vehicles before flying across. This time as I approached I notices a big rig tractor parked to my left. I slowed down and saw a 400 lb long haul trucker buck naked sunbathing ass up, laying on the ground in front of his truck. He was obviously sleeping because once I realized what I was seeing I busted out laughing and he never flinched. I continued on down the trail and came upon my buddy waiting for me about a mile down. As I came flying up I was laughing very loud and asked him if he seen that. Seen what? was his response. I could barely spew forth the words I was laughing so hard. My response: the 400 lb naked trucker buck naked sunbathing back there. What? No I didn't see that he responded. I'm not sure if he believed me and he didn't want to go back to we continued on. Obviously he flew across the fire road without slowing to check for vehicle driving by or he would have seen him also.

That was some 15 years ago on a trail called Noble Canyon outside of San Diego. And to this day it's got to be the strangest thing and biggest surprise I've ever encountered riding.

Was on a late afternoon ride at Brown's Ranch in AZ this past spring & saw some hikers stopped in the middle of the trail ahead of me. Was trying to get their attention as I approached so I could cruise on through but their minds were elsewhere. Instead of yelling "Strava" I stopped & hopped off the bike. Turns out that was a good thing. They were trying to work their way around a rattlesnake coiled on the trail. Man I hate snakes!

Not a MTB trail, but less than a mile out of the Tuolumne Meadows campground at Yosemite NP this past September I walked up on what may well have been the most beautiful woman I have ever met...with her pants around her ankles, peeing in the bushes not 3 feet off the trail.

Most recent surprise biking was wet leaves over wet rocks leaving me standing in the middle of the trail after the bike slid right out from under me. Gave up and went home after having that happen a few times.

fuzzwardo, there is nothing like that stopie you get while trying to miss something in the trail. Last week I came around a corner in a downhill section and saw bikes and riders standing around. As the rear wheel came off the ground I had time to think about it. Do I want to let go and slam into a bike, or should I try to land an OTB? I stayed on the brake and landed against one of those guys standing in the trail. He managed to stay upright so I never hit the dirt above my knee. What a rush.

I came within two feet of t-boning a black bear earlier this summer on the trail closest to my house. Came around a blind corner and there she was, running perpendicular to the trail. That was exciting!

Not a MTB trail, but less than a mile out of the Tuolumne Meadows campground at Yosemite NP this past September I walked up on what may well have been the most beautiful woman I have ever met...with her pants around her ankles, peeing in the bushes not 3 feet off the trail.

The absence of information about what happened next is profoundly disappointing....

Had to bunny hop one in the middle of a downhill fire-road about a week before going around 30mph, too. Saw it too late to make a safe stop. I heard it hiss and rattle as I was flying over it. Not sure if it tried to strike or not, but I could swear I heard something bounce off my frame as I went over it.=(

The absence of information about what happened next is profoundly disappointing....

If I'd been 15-20 years younger, I probably would have changed destinations(we were headed in opposite directions) on the spot, but as it was, we both laughed and spoke briefly-after her attire was properly situated
There's not a whole lot of shame in the backcountry, or at trailhead parking lots, for that matter.

I was on a night ride recently and happened upon two young women hiking. They had no lights and were over an hour from the trailhead. It was a loop and they misjudged their speed against the distance and time of nightfall.

I stopped and chatted with them for a while, asking if they needed any help or if they wanted me to accompany them back, since I was the only one who had light. They seemed leary and declined. I gave them confirmation of directions back to their car and a rough idea of how long it would take them to get back and left.

I still wonder if I handled this well. They were not in any real danger in this area, but I was not comfortable leaving them in the dark like I did. They did not seem at ease with me in the woods however. My car was in the direct opposite direction of where they were going, and I was on my way out, low on batterly life, so a return trip to ensure that they made it later was not an option.

I've come across snakes, big spiders, even a mountain lion cub...one of the craziest things I saw was a beehive in the dirt. It was the middle of the trail. There are these tubes that the bees would come in and out of. The bees were black. I've only come across it once...the next time I went back...they were gone.

Earlier this year, riding through a section of a city park trail that's a more recent addition to the park - formerly a gravel pit operation that was converted to a pay fishing lake facility that got abandoned before it became part of the city park, my wife and I passed a couple of meth heads doing the nasty on a rotten old mattress that was dumped in the woods near the trail.

A couple of weeks ago I came a round a right hand curve and looked up to see what I finally figured out was a ground hog running right at me. The little guy took a right turn just before he hit me and just kept running off into the woods.

A few years ago I stumbled on a photographer and an attractive young lady preparing to shoot some porn. I didn't realize what was going on right away because they were hiking in from the road and everyone was still dressed. I only figured it out a minute or two later as I puzzled out why a woman would be hiking in sweat pants and high heels and why that dude had such a fancy camera. Then it occurred to me that sweats come off pretty easy and the high heels - well they'd probably stay on. I can be very naive at times. I thought about doubling back for a better view but it seemed better to mind my own business.

Ran into a garden orb spider, like ran into. They are about the size of a 1/2 dollar and all green and yellow. They also like to spin webs in the fields on high shrubs and bushes, across trails. On an early morning ride, hit the web, spider right on my left eyeglass lens. Did the crazy man dance, dismount rip the helmet and glasses off, while rolling and running at the same time. Sub optimal.

Wild boar :bbbrrrrr: give me the heebie geebies... over the years I've heard them real close running in undergrowth... could have sworn the last one followed me for a bit (or was it the other way round?)...

I hope I never actually see one whilst riding... I'll need a change of shorts if I do o_0

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-=snifff!!=- What's that you say?

Over 25 years of MTBing, I have to think not many surprises remain. We don't have any real dangerous animals, but I had a groundhog growl at me once. THAT was surprising! Almost hit a turkey hen and some chicks, skunks, deer, raccoons... Downed trees on a DH will get your thrill on. Riding into a frog migration (it's just gross - they POP). Riding into a mess of nightcrawlers mating. A couple in a sleeping bag, probably mating. A trail that used to be a downhill to a switchback for years became stairs into a switchback (4 of us crashed in pile on a night ride). A dog laying in ambush on the side of the trail. The builders at a local trail rerouted the trail off of a hillside and over the roof of a shed (it was AWESOME!)
I could do with a surprise like a suitcase full of money or something.

black bear, and it was huge. far enough away not to be too startling though.
skunk that came out right in front of me, and fortunately didn't spray
hot woman peeing in the woods
two really fat women bathing in a pond
had someone yell "hot chick in a sun dress!" at us going the opposite direction.....then around the corner, sure enough, hot chick in a sun dress.
rattlesnake
cow standing in middle of trail late at night when i only had little petzel LED. two glowing eyes scared the crap out of me.

Sat. morning I was on a lowland trail that passes though a lot of dense growth; you can't see around the corners. Its name is Route 66 for any SoFla riders. I came up on a Sea Hawk, Osprey that was right on the trail. He/She jumped into the air but flew into a bramble, a 3-D maze of bare sticks. I stopped to watch because I can't help myself, but it was amazing to see such a big bird get out of that mess. It didn't fly to far away, I could still see as it landed near the bottom of a large Oak. Didn't stay there to long either but my pals caught-up, stopped and got a good look too. Very fun to be so close to such beauty!

Ran into a garden orb spider, like ran into. They are about the size of a 1/2 dollar and all green and yellow. They also like to spin webs in the fields on high shrubs and bushes, across trails. On an early morning ride, hit the web, spider right on my left eyeglass lens. Did the crazy man dance, dismount rip the helmet and glasses off, while rolling and running at the same time. Sub optimal.

A few years ago I was riding with three or four buddies.
We came to a trail intersection a mile or so into the woods to find a guy laying face down.
We stopped about 25 feet away and wondered WTF? Dead guy?
After a minute one of the guys walked over and gave the guy a little push with his foot.
Slowly the dude rolled over and sat up, drunk as a skunk. We decided he'd survive, and rode on.

A dead guy, just off of the Santa Fe Trail near downtown Colorado Springs. A couple kids flagged me down after having found him. It wasn't pleasant. He was face down and looked dead. I didn't turn him over but his face had been chewed off by rodents (I was told this later by my neighbor who is a cop). I called 911 and the police were there within like 3 minutes. It still bugs me to this day.

A dead guy, just off of the Santa Fe Trail near downtown Colorado Springs. A couple kids flagged me down after having found him. It wasn't pleasant. He was face down and looked dead. I didn't turn him over but his face had been chewed off by rodents (I was told this later by my neighbor who is a cop). I called 911 and the police were there within like 3 minutes. It still bugs me to this day.

earlier this year, someone's body was dumped in a park near a local mtb trail. The investigation never spread out enough to affect trail traffic...but I was out on the trail that day shortly after the police arrived. the proximity alone is still enough to make me shiver.

Iíve seen lots of coyotes, rattlesnakes, deer, wild turkey, javelina, etc. to the point that none of them surprise me anymore, but the most unusual surprise was flying around a corner and finding myself in the middle of a family reunion. This was a section of the trail that runs behind some houses, and apparently they had all just come out for a little hike, 60+ people all wearing the same T-shirts. Everyone over the age of five jumped to the edge of the trail, so I had to dodge about a dozen little ones that didnít know enough move anywhere except right in front of me.

While riding in Blue Diamond, Nevada I rounded a turn and came face to face with a huge ram bighorn sheep. I slammed on the brakes and for an instant our eyes met. Then he snorted and quickly bounded off the trail up a hill. I sure am glad I didn't have a set of horns or he might have wanted to do one of those head butts ... like you see on those nature shows!

A couple of years ago, on an early morning commute, I came literally face to face with a big bull moose. I was living in Wyoming at the time, in a small town, and it was pitch black. I slammed on the brakes, and could feel the steam of his breath on my face. He definitely did not brush his teeth this morning. I slowly eased back, he snorted at me a couple of times, and moved down to chomp some willows. Funny thing is that after work, I came home to find him laying under the front window of my house. He was gone by morning, but second guessed myself every morning on the way to work after that.

A couple of years ago, on an early morning commute, I came literally face to face with a big bull moose. I was living in Wyoming at the time, in a small town, and it was pitch black. I slammed on the brakes, and could feel the steam of his breath on my face. He definitely did not brush his teeth this morning. I slowly eased back, he snorted at me a couple of times, and moved down to chomp some willows. Funny thing is that after work, I came home to find him laying under the front window of my house. He was gone by morning, but second guessed myself every morning on the way to work after that.

Let me get this straight. You interrupted a bull moose dining. Pissed off as he was he stalked you? Did you have to get a restraining order?

This summer I ran across two middle aged people having sex on the side of a busy rail trail. I just gave the thumbs up and kept moving. They could have at least hiked over into the bushes a few yards, out of sight.

This summer I ran across two middle aged people having sex on the side of a busy rail trail. I just gave the thumbs up and kept moving. They could have at least hiked over into the bushes a few yards, out of sight.

And tripped over their pants around their ankles. That's just dangerous.